We both let out a sigh of relief as I let go of his ears.
Peeking out from behind the tree, I watch the thing walk away. It has four metal yet insect-like legs, the way they move almost spider-like. Most of its features aren't visible because of the dark.
I look back at Bunny- that's what I'm calling him for now- and he gives me a look that I don't know how to describe. Pleading? Worry? Fear? His shoulders sag and he purses his lips.
"Alice..." he starts. I blink.
"We've been looking for you. Where have you been?" he asks in a voice that almost sounds like a whine. Almost. I shake my head in confusion. "Who? No, I'm not- I'm not Alice. You're getting the wrong person here, Mister Bunny. I'm-"
Before I could finish, a loud creaking on top of the tree we're hiding behind catches our attention. Along with the big thing's.
We immediately duck as light points towards a creaking branch with nothing on it, eyes wide. A snicker, seemingly coming from everywhere, echoes amongst the trees as I shrink down in fear.
Bunny, in my surprise, does the opposite.
His earlier folded ears perk up with the sound and a soft growl emanates from his throat. "Oh, please. Not now..." he whispers in mixed exasperation and pleading.
The snicker turns into a full out laugh, gathering from everywhere into a single point as a disembodied smile with razor sharp teeth appears in thin air, the branch creaking again from an invisible weight.
"What, can't a cat climb up on trees anymore? That's pretty normal last time I checked," a face fades into existence to compliment the smile yet the way it stretches still feels unnervingly big in contrast to this new guy's features.
"As do rabbits scampering off in fear," his earlier lazy drawl crescendos and ends with an intimidating hiss as the rest of his body, from his broad, muscled shoulders to his stiletto heels, languidly fades in existence. Bunny closes into himself out of reflex and the cat-man laughs in amusement without separating his teeth. The sound reminds me of an old car that's having troubles to start.
His tail playfully waves as his smile turns impossibly wider, his neon colors almost hypnotizing. I blink away and peek at the dome-spider-thing to divert my attention. It has a single heart-shaped eye where the light emits from, the reflection of it on his metal body showing intricate swirling designs that feels familiar for some reason. Have I seen them before? I can't really recall.
I look back up at him and his smile shows a more mischievous glint even though it didn't really seemed to change at all.
The red light keeps trained on him but nothing happens, much to my surprise. He looks at the thing and waves with his fingers. Is it actually not that dangerous at all? Bunny cautiously steps back- as if to hide behind me, of all people- and clutches his cravat, blinking when he finds nothing around it. His spade pins are gone. When did they fall off? That's too bad, I thought they looked pretty cool on him. I cautiously step back too while he's looking for it so he's not behind me.
"Looking for something, Rabbit?"
The cat-man taunts as he holds his hand out in a fist, the other curled under his chin. Bunny gasps, his big ears folding back again instantly and almost hitting me in the face. "Ches, you wouldn't..." the man beside me cowers.
The cat-man, Ches as Bunny called him, gives him a challenging look with his ever present smile. I can't fathom how much emotion he's actually able to convey with only his same huge smile, some eyebrow quirking and subtle head movement.
"Cheshire," Bunny softly whines the other man's name in an ineffective warning, his voice almost cracking with desperation. Cheshire's smile darkens. The same big grin yet with a more malicious glint in his freaky eyes that makes the hair on my arms stand up as goosebumps litter my skin.
What the hell is happening? This is a dream, right? It should be. But when did I fall asleep? When I got home? In the middle of the park? Why am I feeling all these things as if they're real? Did I eat something bad? Did Dinnie put something weird in the cake he had everybody taste-test this morning??
I was brought back to the present when Bunny flinches with a high-pitched whimper as Cheshire opens his fist, revealing an empty hand. "Kidding~" he sing-songs only to lift the hand under his chin and revealing the spade pins tucked in his palm, facing away from the light.
"Not."
He drops a spade and it dangles instead of falling down the ground because of the chain. The moment it hits the red light, what was once a dim luminescence turns into a harsh ray of eye-hurting glare as the machine lets out a malicious roar, now more ear-piercing and painful than before. It's almost similar to a truck horn except distorted and pitched to be Satan's alarm clock.
Bunny yelps and leaps up to get the pins that Cheshire throws his way before he disappears into a fit of laughter, his deep hearty voice reverbing amongst the trees as if he's both far away and inside our ears at the same time.
The white rabbit makes a bolt for it in all fours and I, of course, follows as the dome machine destroys the tree I'm hiding behind in and chases us.
"Shit, shit, shit- Hey! Bunny! Why'd you leave me alone?!" I scream as I try to catch up but he proves to be so much faster. "Destroy it!! You know I'm not good with these!!" He cries back.
Excuse me?!
"And what makes you think I can do it?!" I shout back. Hell, can Alice do it?! I sure as hell ain't Alice! Can somebody call her here already?!
In my sorry attempt to reach Bunny and keep my legs moving as fast as I can, my foot gets caught on a tree root and I slam down the ground with a cut off yelp.
I shakily groan as I try to raise myself up with my arms still stinging from trying to stop the impact. It hurts. I blink and look around.
I'm still here.
My palms are scratched and bloody from the friction of my fall. They sting.
I'm still here. I'm still here.
Why the hell am I not waking up???
I hear heavy mechanical footsteps fast approaching behind me and I turn with wide, fearful eyes. Its legs heavily thud on either side of my body as I try to scramble away backwards. The dome shape splits into two and reveals what seems to be a huge, upside down statue of a lady, held in place by red, glowing, thorny vines. I stop in place and blink at it in confusion. Wha- what is it going to do with that?? Why did it do that???
Nothing happens for a few moments and I reluctantly let out a shallow exhale.
It's not doing anything... just kinda standing there and showing me the thing. What is that supposed to mean? Well, in this close distance, I can't help but at least admire the beautifully made lady statue. She has long hair that has small curls where the vines securely hold on to. Her arms are crossed to look like she's covering her nicely-shaped bosom with her hands and her thighs are firmly pressed together, legs bent slightly forward with more vines circling around her calves and feet.
Oh so slightly, she leans her head to the side and gives me a gentle smile. I blink and smile back. Huh, she doesn't seem so bad.
She opens her mouth to reveal an eye.
WHAT THE F- I didn't even have the time to shriek as her body, from her collar bones to her knees, perfectly splits into two to reveal a huge vertical mouth lined with big, human-like teeth. A disembodied hand grabs me out of nowhere and pulls me to the side before the mouth could chomp me down.
I let out a scream- that thing almost got my feet! A force suddenly pulls my body up and sharply pushes me away, leaving me scrambling for balance like a newborn deer in a horse race before I could catch my momentum and run like the wind.
"It ain't fun if you die that fast," Cheshire laughs as I dash without looking back. "Cheshire, whAT THE HELL?!" I shout at him and all I get is an amused cackle echoing from the never-ending shadows.
Not seeing anything in the dark, I find myself falling into something and rolling down. "Is somebody there?!" I hear a female voice call from below. "Yes! Please hel-" the creature roars an ear-piercing shrill and I get cut off, covering my ears with a pained grimace. Is this what my character from Monster Hunter feels like when a Rathian screams bloody murder right by his ears? No wonder he always drops those eggs.
Feeling up my surroundings, it seems that I fell in a hole under a tree . I look back as the creature slams into the trunk, the roots around me creaking as it tries to get to me. "Look out!" I hear the earlier voice say and I turn to ask what she meant when something fast comes speeding at me. I reflexively move my head to the side as a tomahawk axe whooshes past, grazing my cheek.
"What the heck?!" I clamor, falling down on my side as the axe goes straight into the creature's open mouth, making it step back and shriek. Its vines glow brighter as smoke comes out of it in anger, slamming into the tree much harder than before. I squawk in fear and panic as I crawl deeper into the hole until the ground suddenly ends into a steep drop.
"Off you go~" Cheshire's playful voice echoes behind me. "Wait, don't you dare- AH!!" I feel a strong kick to my back, sending me forward into the darkness. You couldn't just normally push me instead of kicking me with those damn heels?! I try to grab around for purchase but there's nothing to hold on to. It's as if I'm uncontrollably spinning in space, not knowing which way is up or down.
Brightness momentarily blinds me and I open my eyes only to meet face to face with a hooded woman, arm thrown back in preparation to hurl another axe.
We both yelp as I slam into her. Hard.
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